Saints and Friends,
A good friend of mine, Donavon, is a tremendously insightful
pastor. He is also the father of an
autistic child. Recently, I was able to
speak to him on the topic of “What can a church do to accommodate families who
have special needs children?”
I have long been concerned for those with needs we may not understand. Having family that is autistic and after working with an
autistic youth who has become an Eagle Scout, I can attest that much more should be
done to minister to entire families whom often feel left out, misunderstood,
and long for a spiritual connection. It
would be my desire to equip our church, nay, every church at some level, to be
prepared to warmly embrace families dealing with autism.
When we love on these special people we actually open ourselves to a great joy. Part of Christian love is loving those who may not be able to reciprocate. For this love is love indeed. Many families of autistic children are taxed of energy and need encouragement. God is glorified always as we compassionately minister to the
least of these.
As a church is called to put love into action, we must strive to be a fountainhead of grace and compassion. Often we miss opportunities to do so either out of inexperience, lack of knowledge, or a failure to prepare to meet a need. I have often failed at each of these points.
Thus, I would like to
present to you the advice of my friend. I have found his words to be a pivotal point
for ministering to a forgotten share of our society.
He states;
1. Give your
congregation information on autism. You
would be surprised how many educated adults still believe autism can be
"controlled" by firmer discipline or parenting.
2. Have your Sunday
School teachers trained in being prepared for working with special needs
children. Give them a plan of action for
helping a child in meltdown mode, which most generally requires an assistant in
each class.
3. Have a
"safe-place" where parents can step out of services with a child who
is in emotional meltdown.
4. Reassure families
in greetings, print and your own pulpit demeanor that a special-needs child in
the service is a blessing, not a distraction.
5. Include a non-stigmatizing way for families to identify
themselves as special needs. A simple
added statement on your information cards that asks; "Does your family
have any special care needs that we can be aware of and serve?" is a great
ask.
6. Identify congregants in your church who have any training
educationally and professionally to help create a church action plan for
meeting needs.
7. Host a respite
night for special needs families on your church field. Most parents would love a 3-hour break for a
simple dinner and movie, provided they had a safe place to leave their children
who were fully and superbly supervised.
Enlist helpers from Boyce as an assist to this ministry.
8. Have an open forum
meeting for special needs families to come, again with some child-care provided
where you gift them with something of love and ask them how your church might
better accommodate or minister to them.
Tell them you’re not afraid to be known as the "autism
church". 90-95% of special needs
families are unchurched because of lack of church accommodation to meet their
needs.
9. Do an autism audit
of your facilities. The #1 safety
concern for an autistic child is elopement/entrapment. They will run out of the building, or hide
within it in dangerous confined spaces when sensory overwhelmed. Kids die every
year from drowning and tight space asphyxiation from these events. Your building and grounds have to be secure
if you are going to be intentional about ministering to the autism
community.
10. Open your doors
for the local autism support group. If
there isn't one, pray to form one. 1 in
68 children (1 in 42 boys) on your
church field are already diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum.
11. Least
importantly, read my blog post "Job, Jesus and Autism" @
www.beaconhillbaptist.com for a parent/pastoral perspective.
Hope this is insightful and helpful;
